


tears of the inferno

by lynn_jpg



Series: the inferno inside of me [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Dialogue, Character Death, Crying, Fire, Firebending & Firebenders, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:13:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24565171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynn_jpg/pseuds/lynn_jpg
Summary: zuko's felt pain before. he's felt sadness, shame, disgust-... he's never felt anger like this before.he gives in to the inferno.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Ozai & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: the inferno inside of me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781425
Comments: 9
Kudos: 284





	tears of the inferno

**Author's Note:**

> hello everybody, and welcome to my fic! old avatar fans, I hope you can find something new in this fic! new avatar fans, I welcome you to the world of a:tla! fans of my work, you know what to expect ;) and thank you
> 
> anywho, please read the tags before continuing! this story deals with a lot of angst and gore! thank you for reading!

"How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?!" He feels so small, like he's a kid again. His voice wobbles, but he refuses to cry. Not here. Not in front of him. 

The monster in front of him sneers. "It was to teach you respect-"

"It was cruel! And it was wrong!" He knows that now. He understands. His eyes have been opened to this fucked-up society his father had created. 

"Then you have learned nothing!" The monster shouts back, his voice full of venom. He's angry now, oh so angry, and Agni please make the screaming stop-

But Zuko's angry too. And on that day, his rage boils hotter than that of his father's. "No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it!"

Tears prick his eyes, and he hastily blinks them away. He will not show weakness in front of this man. "We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness!"

His father laughs. It is humorously, lined with anger and disappointment. His eyes narrow. "You're uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"Yes." He smiles. He is not ashamed. Not anymore. "He has."

The man in front of him grows angrier and angrier by the second, a volcano waiting to burst. How dare he speak to him with such disrespect?! The man flashes his teeth in a growl, hands balling into fists. 

With a glare, the younger male stares him down. "After I leave here today, I'm gonna free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm gonna beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me."

"Oh, that's just beautiful." The monster chortles. What a pitiful child. "And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."

"But I've come to an even more important decision. I'm going to join the Avatar and I'm going to help him defeat you."

His father smirks. "Really? Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless. You've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?"

He's a traitor traitor traitor traitor disgrace to the bloodline enemy of the nation a dishonored soul a weak pathetic excuse for a son-

"Because I know my own destiny." He takes a deep breath. The swords are put away. Uncle used to say something about choosing your battles wisely. This isn't his fight. "Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny. Goodbye."

He turns to leave. He is done. He's had his closure. He will have his revenge. 

The monster rages in the background, taunts filling his ears. Stop screaming please stop I want Uncle I want to leave- "Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out!"

He knows who is now. He is Zuko, banished prince, nephew of Iroh, son of Ursa-

"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

Zuko stops walking. The question echoes inside his head. How dare he speak about her?! He has no right! He didn't care-

"... What happened that night?" He asks quietly. The inferno inside him dulls, the flame laughing at him. Weak little boy. Run while you can. It's a trap, can't you see?

Father smirks. He recounts the tale, watching the boy's reaction. "My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared. Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

You're her flesh and blood mom's a traitor you're a traitor uncle's a traitor banished, banished, BANISHED-

The tears prick his eyes, threatening to fall. "So she's alive?"

"Perhaps." The monster replies. It is a vague and unsettling answer. "Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason… Your penalty will be far steeper."

It's like turning on a switch, adding gasoline to a fire. The inferno inside of him ignites, itching to be released. His father smirks and her ten into a familiar stance. Oh dear Agni no please no-

Lightning dances from his fingertips, speeding towards Zuko. His face alights with fear. The monster's face quickly turns into Azula's before morphing back. He's sick, he wants to vomit. 

The bolt sends him backwards a few feet, unable to find traction on the ground. Uncle's face flashes in his mind. The energy flows through his body. Take control don't stop stay alive keep it flowing. It escapes his fingertips, releasing right in front of his father. 

There's a loud crack. The man is sent flying, body colliding with the back wall. He raises his head, absolute fury radiating off of him. 

"YOU ARE WEAK!" The monster bellows, and it's like he's ten again, hiding from his lessons. "TRAITOR! TREACHEROUS SCRUM! LIKE YOUR MOTHER! LIKE YOUR UNCLE! LIKE THOSE PITIFUL NOMADS!"

Thousands of tiny little skulls fill his brain. He sees mothers running for their children, only to be consumed by flame. Their bodies are reduced to ash. Zuko's left drowning in it. 

He's filled with rage. 

He's been angry before, sure. But this is indescribable. It's the fury of mothers and sisters and daughters and brothers and fathers and sons and little children who are nothing but ash-

There's a fire inside him. 

It comes to life. 

* * *

"Oh, sounds like the firebending's back on!"

They fight like they're dancing, narrowly escaping each other's venom. It's an onslaught of Earth, Air, Fire, and Metal. It clashes terribly, filling the chambers in a rattling echo. 

A smirk dances on the firebender's lips. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now." She turns to leave. 

Then the screams fill the air. 

They all stop in their tracks. The screams are loud, haunting, and bloodcurdling. It radiates absolute terror. It sounds like complete torture. The bounce off the walls of the catacombs, ricocheting this way and that. When the noise suddenly stops, their ears are left ringing, a sorrowful ballad still dancing around somewhere. 

For a second, nobody moves. Their faces are as white as a sheet - even Azula's. They cannot deny that whatever it was sounded inhumane. Something is wrong. Azula's jaw drops. 

She runs. 

"Aang, we gotta go!" Sokka's grabbing his arm, nails digging into his skin. He looks petrified, eyes darting nervously around. "Aang, come on!"

"Something's wrong." Aang's clammy and disorientated. "We can't leave. Something's wrong, something's wrong-" 

He pushes the Water Tribe boy away before sprinting down the hall. It's the same direction as Azula. It's the same direction as the Fire Lord's chambers. Sokka stills. He looks over at Toph. 

The earthbender's eyes are wide and unmoving. She stares off into space. Sokka reaches a tentative hand out towards her. Her head snaps in his direction. 

"We need to go," she declares, grabbing his hand. "NOW!" She slams her foot on the ground, and suddenly, they're off. The ground underneath them propels them through the tunnels. They're heading towards the Fire Lord's chambers. Sokka gulps. 

Something is most definitely wrong. 

* * *

His escape went flawlessly. 

Everything had gone according to plan. No one would've suspected his escape - not after his display of being a crazy old man. He trained hard, and it played off. He took them by surprise. 

Now, he was a free man. He had escaped that wretched prison, but it was time for him to escape the Fire Nation. He had spent three long years on the run with his nephew, but he supposes a little more time couldn't hurt him. 

He could leave…. But something isn't right. 

Iroh can't tell you what, but something is off. Something does not feel right. Call it an old man's intuition, but something seems unbalanced. It is unnerving. 

He should've left. He should've left. 

Instead he runs straight towards the caldera. 

* * *

They all arrive upon the scene at the same time. They don't bother with hellos - there is a bigger issue at hand. They push open the doors. 

An inferno greets them. 

Fire fills the room, orange flames licking the ceiling. Burning tapestries fall, littering the ground in cloth and ash. The crackling of the fire roars in their ears. The room is cast in an orange glow. 

The sight could been deemed beautiful without context. It looks straight out of a painting. Instead, it's real. So, very real. 

"Someone's inside!" Toph calls out, eyes wide and frantic. "Someone's inside!"

Iroh wastes no time in pushing his way to the front of the group. The fire colors him orange and yellow, only illuminating the fear on his features. It takes all of his strength, but he splits the ring of fire apart, creating a small opening. The group looks inside. 

Zuko's on his knees. Fire erupts from his throat and fingertips, creating the ring of fire around them. His eyes are glossy and unfocused, aimed towards the ceiling. Tears stream down his cheeks. A pile of ash and bone sits in front of him. 

Iroh's eyes widens, and he chokes back a mix of a sob and a gag. "Oh, dear nephew… no, no, no, no-"

Azula's eyes are aimed on the scene. "Zuzu… what did you do?... What did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She begins to shriek, eyes going wide in terror. "ZUKO! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"HOLD HER BACK!" Iroh instructs over the roar of the flames. He enters the ring of fire, the inferno trapping him in the middle. 

Aang and Toph quickly work to restrain the girl. She fights back, but her movements are sloppy and uncoordinated. She doesn't have a plan, lashing out in fear, confusion, and anger. Tears stream down her cheeks as she lets loose a bloodcurdling scream. 

Toph traps Azula's arms to the ground with a chunk of rock. The crown princess screams and screams and screams. Weak bursts of flames form around her as she hysterically sobs. 

Inside the inferno, Iroh wraps his arms around his nephew. Zuko is unresponsive, glazed-over eyes aimed up at the ceiling. Iroh buries his face in his nephew's back, tears rolling down his cheeks. 

"It is okay, my nephew," Iroh cries out. "He's gone! He can't hurt you anymore! You've eon your battle, Zuko! Please! It's time for you to rest!"

The fire erupting from Zuko's body begins to splutter. The flames grow smaller and smaller until they die out completely. The ring of fire vanishes, revealing the scene that was previously hidden: an old man holds tight to his nephew, ash and bone in front of them. 

Zuko's head lolls forward. He blinks a few times, letting out a ragged cough. His eyes try to regain focus, but his vision is blurred. Still, in front of him he sees all he needs to see. 

The Fire Lord is dead. 

In the background, Azula's still screaming. He's pretty sure the Avatar and his friends are saying something too. His uncle is holding him tight, sobbing something into his back. He hasn't a clue what any of them are daying, though. They all sound muted. 

He lifts his head, tear tracks still evident on his face. He looks around the charred remains of the room, the remains of him-

Traitor, coward, disgrace, BANISHED-

A wave of nausea passes over him. He looks back at his uncle, giving a slow blink. His eyes are still hazy and unfocused. "Uncle… I don't feel so good… "

He feels the pain of Lu Ten's death, he feels the pain of his mother leaving, he feels the pain of his father branding him with a scar, feels the pain of being reborn in Ba Sing Se, feels the pain of conducting lightning, feels the pain of thousands of Air Nomads burning to their deaths-

Zuko falls forward. 

**Author's Note:**

> haha not sorry for leaving it off there. anywho, if you're interested, I might add a couple more parts to this universe. your comments and kudos are much appreciated! I ask you to check out my other works as well if this is something you enjoyed!
> 
> if you want to talk about this work of a:tla in general, you can find me on tumblr by the username abby-lynn-xx. my inbox is open, and I look forward to hearing from you!


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